Editor's Note: Stephen Prothero, a Boston University religion scholar and author of "God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Run the World," is a regular CNN Belief Blog contributor.

By Stephen Prothero, Special to CNN

(CNN)–In 1966, John Lennon famously claimed that The Beatles were "more popular than Jesus." Today that title may belong to Tim Tebow, the Denver Broncos quarterback more famous for praising Jesus than for throwing touchdowns.

As anyone who has visited Dallas or Atlanta on any recent weekend can attest, America’s two great religions are Christianity and football. In recent weeks, these two great faiths have come together in Tim Tebow, the new starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos and America’s latest merger of faith in Jesus and faith in the Almighty Touchdown.

When viewed from the perspective of “the world,” Tebow is, at best, a mediocre NFL quarterback. When viewed through the eyes of faith, however, he is something like the Second Coming of Joe Montana. And maybe Something More.

On this burning question of Tim Tebow, I must confess to being an agnostic. But I understand the fervor on both sides.

Skeptics generally concede that Tebow, an outspoken Christian, was an extraordinary high school and college football player. After all, he won the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore, and led his University of Florida team to two NCAA football titles.

But those who refuse to bow down before Tebow insist that NFL football is another game altogether, and when it comes to that game Tebow is a passing fancy. They attribute Denver’s near miraculous 5-1 run during his reign as a starter not to his offense but to the Broncos defense.

They point out that he throws about as well as Peppermint Patty, and that in one of his wins he completed only two passes more than Charlie Brown (which is to say two). His completion percentage (45.5%) is last in the league.

Skeptics are also turned off by Tebow’s public displays of religion. Tebow used to cite Bible verses on his eye black. And his tendency to be found praying while his teammates are strutting has added a new word—“Tebowing”—to the lexicon.

True believers say to hell with all that. What matters are the intangibles. Tebow is a winner. He may allow his team to fall behind, but in the end he leads the Broncos to victory, often in a fashion that can only be termed miraculous.

Which is to say, when it comes to the Almighty TT, you gotta have faith (or not).

In his book “Faith and Belief,” the Religious Studies scholar Wilfred Cantwell Smith describes how the notion of “faith” changed over the centuries from something like “trust” to its modern-day meaning of “belief in the unbelievable.”

And that, it seems to me, is what we are witnessing with Tebow.

It is simply not believable that a quarterback who cannot throw would turn a team from a 1-4 also-ran to a 6-5 playoff contender. But Tebow has done that, in part by running and in part, well, by faith.

There is, to be sure, Tebow's faith in Jesus. But perhaps more importantly, there is the faith of his teammates in him. Not to mention the adoration of legions of University of Florida alums, and of fans in Denver and beyond.

As a scholar of religion, I have little expertise in football, NFL or otherwise. But I cannot help weighing in on a few comparisons between TT and JC:

Jesus: turned a ragtag band of 12 apostles into the number one religion in the world

Tebow: turned a ragtag squad of 11 football players into an NFL juggernaut

Jesus: prayed a lot (to God)

Tebow: prays a lot (to Jesus)

Jesus: ran the money changers out of the temple

Tebow: runs the spread option

Jesus: miraculously saved a wedding at Cana by turning water into wine

Tebow: miraculously led the Broncos to last-second victories against the Dolphins, the Jets and the Chargers.

Coincidence? You be the judge. As for me, I'm sitting back and waiting for Tebow to do something truly miraculous. Like winning a game without completing a single pass, or running back a punt for a touchdown, or kicking a 50-yard field goal to win a game.

Meanwhile, I am happy to report that Jesus is still more famous than Tebow. At least for now.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Stephen Prothero.

soundoff(1,398 Responses)

Hypatia

No, he's just making a show of piety, which makes the fundies happy but is in direct opposition to Christ's mandate. See Matthew 6, verses 5-6.

January 7, 2012 at 11:28 am |

Mercyme

Go Tebow! Finally, a man who doesn't have to hide his personal relationship with the Lord until a Sunday morning Church service. If athletes can say "Hi! Mom!" on national TV, What's wrong with saying "Hi! Heavenly Father!" HMMMM...

January 2, 2012 at 4:45 am |

Lucifer's Evil Twin

Almost a month later and this article is still stupid. Praying to jebus sure helped against the Bills. 40-14! LOL, wow tebow took sucking to a whole new level. It just goes to show, that not only does your non-existent god love the Patriots, but he even likes the Bills more than the Broncos. LOL!

December 27, 2011 at 11:55 am |

momoya

Quote from 2nd paragraph: "As anyone who has visited Dallas or Atlanta on any recent weekend can attest, America’s two great religions are Christianity and football."

Tebow is not performing miracles, he is merely performing. If it was more than mere performance, he would kneel and pray after every play, not just the ones that work out well for him.

December 27, 2011 at 11:48 am |

toosliq

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray in public places to be seen by others… But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your heavenly Father, who is unseen.” (Matt. 6:5-6)

December 16, 2011 at 4:55 pm |

BL

It's incredibly childish and immature to believe these activities have anything to do with spirituality. True spirituality comes from within, based on serious and determined self inquiry. Religion is facade, dogma, ritual, mythology and hierarchy. Everything is in a constant state of change and inevitably, this will change as well. To what will we attribute his slump?

December 16, 2011 at 2:40 pm |

Louis Cypher

calm down "taoist" because yours to is a religious structure

December 16, 2011 at 2:46 pm |

Dragon

Sorry chum, but that Religion Scholar in America the free, is like balls deep damning, so I didn't read. Yes, Tebow, as a Christian male in a dying league is performing miracles. God Bless Israel!!! God Bless Israel. Palestine was told yesterday by the local cloud cover to move out of the neighboring area and occupy IraQ. !!! it was a great great great thing. God bless the Jewish! I eat pig too, but christianity is an extension of ancient Jewish law! we can't forget that! Jews. Rule!!!!

Working as a social worker/ counselor for many years I have seen God at work in peoples lives. God does help people to find hope and change their lives. Inspired by all I have experienced in social services over the years. I wrote this book to show that God is there fir you and to provide hope to hurting people in times of crisis. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1467933562?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1

December 6, 2011 at 2:03 pm |

Tracy Cutler

Michele, I agree with you. I believe God helps us in all we do in his name. It's not a question about whether or not he is interested in football—he is interested in all we do and helps us in miraculous ways. I don't think he is performing football miracles. He may be helping someone to be his best, though. Of course most of God's miracles don't make headlines—they change lives.

December 24, 2011 at 11:10 am |

John McGrath

I don't really think God cares who wins a football game.
Does prayer lead to a touchdown? I don't think so. Suppose you pray for a pass completion and throw an incompletion.
Do you think God is involved?
Years ago the St. John's basketball coach Joe Lapchick made his players stop making the sign of the Cross before they took a foul shot. He said to them that "if you miss after making the Sign of the Cross you make God look bad".

December 5, 2011 at 3:40 pm |

richard

The only question I want answered is this, both sides have people praying to win a football game. How does God decide which side wins? Maybe, just maybe God does not really care about football any.

December 5, 2011 at 2:53 pm |

real prayers

What matters is the hearer of prayers......we he really listen to you? Depends on your true heart.

The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.